Michelle Lee

A Monterey Peninsula native, pastry chef Michelle Lee grew up in a food-obsessed family and learned at an early age what joy great cuisine can provide from her stepfather, who was a restaurant critic for the Monterey Herald. She graduated from Saint Mary’s College of California and spent time volunteering and traveling in Jamaica and Peru. She pursued a career in the nonprofit sector briefly but found herself using most of her time to educate herself further about food, and yearning to spend more time in the kitchen.

Following her heart and appetite, Lee attended the New England Culinary Institute in Essex Junction, Vermont. After externships at Cobalt Restaurant in New Orleans and Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, she worked on the Monterey Peninsula (Restaurant 1833, Montrio Bistro, Earthbound Farm), in Las Vegas (Michael Mina at the Bellagio, the Mansion at MGM Grand, Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood and RM Upstairs), and in Philadelphia (R2L Restaurant). Throughout the past decade, she has had the honor to work with and be inspired by great mentors, such as pastry chef Kamel Guechida, pastry chef Peter Scarola, chef Gerald Chin, and chef Adam Sobel.

In 2015, Lee joined the team at InterContinental The Clement Monterey under executive chef Matt Bolton, where she helps manage the kitchen and runs the hotel’s pastry program.